Design School for Regenerating Earth

Description

Andrea Farias (case study):

"Support bioregional organizing teams by facilitating peer learning through structured dialogues and learning journeys.

● Knowledge & Ontologies

Content is organized topically into learning journeys (multi-session series) and themed dialogues (single/few sessions). Both take the form of video calls that are then recorded and shared, as well as an area of the platform to host materials and posts.

Learning journeys are essential to documenting and communicating human-centered knowledge:

● Theoretical frameworks and process models are shared. Eg. What is a Bioregional Learning Center?

● Case studies demonstrating practical applications are also showcased. Eg. Territorial Governance in Barichara.

● Guest presentations from active practitioners.

Also organized around location, with each group having an area to store materials, as well as regular calls. Locations represent a variety of scales, from Europe to the Thames watershed.

● Interaction Design

There is a strong emphasis on real-time gatherings (community calls, learning journey sessions) as the primary touchpoints. Knowledge is shared during live sessions and community discussions.

Member posts also supplement the knowledge base, but there is no structured system for knowledge input or discovery. This means contributions are relational and emergent, but hard to track.

Apart from real-time gatherings, knowledge is surfaced through platform browsing. Access depends largely on navigating groups, chronological feeds, and manual discovery via search or recommendations.

● Technical Architecture

Hosted on Mighty Networks, a commercial community platform. Features include event scheduling, posts, video recordings, group spaces by topic/interest, and discussion threads. Limited structured database functionality; primarily a discussion-and-posts based architecture.

Platform-native data types are used, including groups, posts, and personal proles.

Some media externalization through YouTube for broader accessibility.

● Governance & Sustainability

Participation in the community platform is behind a paywall, with members having to contribute around $50 per year to join, although other options are available. Community stewards (Joe Brewer and Penny Heiple) guide content and activities. Members can propose and lead learning journeys and create content. Reliance on steward leadership and ongoing engagement of the community for sustaining momentum.

Use of commercial platforms presents potential risks regarding long-term sovereignty and data control."

(https://www.r3-0.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bioregional-Knowledge-Commons-A-Meta-Perspective.pdf)